China's crude oil imports from Russia surged 52.4 percent in April from a year earlier to reach a record 1.17 million barrels per day (bpd), customs data showed on Monday, ahead of the previous record of 1.13 million bpd in December.

International Energy Agency (IEA) Executive Director Fatih Birol said last month that global upstream investment fell by 24 percent in 2015 and is set to fall by 18 percent in 2016.

The average price of LNG shipments into the country was about $6.32 per million British thermal units in April, the least since August 2005, according to Bloomberg calculations based on preliminary data from the Ministry of Finance. Prices are expected to rebound in coming months as crude values have surged, according to Junzo Tamamizu, managing partner at Clavis Energy Partners LLC.

Oil Search Ltd. has moved to consolidate natural-gas developments on Papua New Guinea with a US$2.2 billion deal to buy U.S.-listed midsize energy company InterOil Corp amid a growing natural gas glut.

Malaysia's national oil company (NOC) Petroliam Nasional Berhad (PETRONAS) posted a profit after tax of $1.1 billion (MYR 4.6 billion) for the first quarter of 2016 (1Q 2016) that ended March 31, down 60 percent from $2.8 billion (MYR 11.4 billion) recorded in the same period last year, while revenue fell 26 percent to $12.1 billion (MYR 49.1 billion) from $16.3 billion (MYR 66.2 billion) in the corresponding period, financial results released Wednesday by the firm showed.

China is Russia’s biggest single trade partner, with its share rising to 12.8 percent from 12 percent in 2015. Even so, the overall turnover of goods fell by 26 percent last year to $68.1 billion. That means the countries are far off reaching their target of $100 billion in trade.

The agreement provides for the expansion of cooperation between the parties in Russia, Vietnam and third countries in the area of hydrocarbon exploration and production (including offshore), processing, commerce and logistics, as well as staff training. The parties agreed to consider potential options for joint projects and define the basic terms of cooperation as well as establish a working group for each of the areas of cooperation.

The parties plan to examine further opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation in the field of hydrocarbon prospecting, exploration and development. Among the opportunities being considered are joint activities within new projects at licensed blocks on the shelf of Vietnam and in third countries.

China’s falling oil output and sliding U.S. production may help rebalance a market struggling to recover from the worst price crash in a generation

The parties focused, inter alia, on the exploration activities in blocks 112 and 129–132 and the joint development of the Moc Tinh and Hai Thach fields. It was noted that the construction of 12 production wells, three production platforms, a floating hydrocarbon storage terminal, and a submarine pipeline system had been completed at these fields. The total accumulated production from the Moc Tinh and Hai Thach fields since its launch in 2013 has now reached 4.5 billion cubic meters of gas and 1.1 million tons of gas condensate.

Rosneft appreciates the prospects of cooperation with Pertamina, which will provide an additional channel for Rosneft to supply its high-margin products to one of the fastest growing economies in the region (4.79% GDP growth in 2015). The Republic of Indonesia, with a population of 254 million people, is the largest Asian-Pacific net importer of motor fuels and petrochemicals. Petroleum products, produced from Russian crude, are supplied to Indonesia primarily from South Korea and Singapore. It is crucial for Rosneft to arrange direct shipments of hydrocarbons, which will increase the economic efficiency of oil refining in Indonesia.

China and Japan dispute sovereignty over a group of uninhabited East China Sea islets, while in the South China Sea, Beijing is building islands on reefs to bolster its claims.

"Everybody is trying to get a big stake in India--it is the biggest growing market in Asia," said Amrita Sen, chief oil analyst at London-based consultancy Energy Aspects.

The world’s biggest energy user increased inbound shipments to 91.1 million metric tons in the first three months of the year, data from the Beijing-based General Administration of Customs showed on Wednesday. That’s equivalent to about 7.34 million barrels a day, 6 percent higher than the previous quarter and 13 percent up from the same period last year. Imports last month fell about 4 percent from February’s record to 7.71 million barrels a day, the third-highest ever.

China National Offshore Oil Corp. towed the rig, known as HYSY 981, into a disputed area of the South China Sea in May 2014, triggering an uproar in Vietnam. Anti-Chinese riots broke out in several parts of the country while Chinese and Vietnamese coast-guard and fishing vessels stood off against each other at sea.